Finance Advisor, Tokyo

Purpose

The Tokyo Finance team is essential to the smooth operation of the Japan and Korea offices, offering critical support to ensure their business efficiency. A core aspect of their role is ensuring full compliance with the accounting, tax and payroll requirements in both jurisdictions. Additionally, the team provides critical support for revenue and working capital management, as well as financial and business performance management. Their work is delivered with strict adherence to local and global regulations.

Currently, the team comprises a manager role (temporarily overseen by a Business Manager, as it is currently vacant) and two Finance Advisors. However, one of the advisors has resigned, hence, this position needs to be replaced by a local hire.

This role supports the Finance Manager by overseeing the department’s daily operations, ensuring compliance with finance and tax requirements such as payroll, employee tax filings, partner tax filings, accounting closures, and financial planning and analysis (FP&A) for both Tokyo and Seoul offices.

A key aspect of this role involves working closely with external professional vendors to fulfil requirements related to tax and accounting audits as well as reporting obligations for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and national and local tax authorities.

The Finance Advisor also ensures financial hygiene through streamlining client negotiations, improving communication with clients, enhancing revenue accuracy and efficiency, and addressing net investment exposure.

The success of the role depends on the ability to influence and drive the implementation of financial strategies, working capital management, and business planning to achieve organisational effectiveness.

Key Dimensions

This role reports directly to the Finance Manager and collaborates extensively across multiple functions and offices to address financial matters and drive operational efficiency.

The Finance team currently comprises a task force of two individuals supporting the Tokyo and Seoul offices. Combined, these offices generate an estimated total income in FY25 of approximately £25 million for Tokyo and £6 million for Seoul. The office structure includes 7 partners, 5 counsels, and around 70 fee earners and staff members in the Tokyo office, alongside 2 partners and approximately 10 fee earners and staff members in Seoul.

Key responsibilities of the role include maintaining the accuracy and integrity of financial information and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements. These responsibilities encompass:

• Accounting and Financial Closing for month-end and year-end.
• Tax compliance processes, including tax filings and registrations.
• Local audit that includes the Local Tax Authority, and group audits
• Payroll processes for employees and self-employed individuals, overseas assignees.
• Budget and Forecast
• Working capital management, focusing on revenue and managing the NIM exposure.
• Ensuring adherence to firm policies and local regulatory requirements.

This position contributes significantly to the financial accuracy, compliance, and efficiency of both offices by influencing policies, resolving financial challenges, and fostering collaboration among internal and external stakeholders.

Key responsibilities and challenges

1. Payroll and Tax Compliance

• Manage payroll for employees, self-employed lawyers, assignees, and partners in accordance with jurisdictional regulations.
• Ensure compliance with social security contributions, defined contribution plans, and annual tax adjustments, as well as payroll accounting.
• Oversee tax filings and reporting requirements in collaboration with external tax and accounting firms. This includes filings for global equity partner income tax, corporate tax, VAT, and other statutory obligations.
• Maintain expertise in the unique and complex tax regulations for Japan and Korea, such as partnership and LLP structures.

2. Accounting and Financial Closing

• Oversee month-end and year-end closings in strict compliance with IFRS, Japanese GAAP, and Korean GAAP.
• Prepare key financial reports, including audit schedules, bank reconciliations, and inter-office settlements.
• Monitor financial performance against budget and forecasts, highlighting and addressing any variances.

3. Working Capital and Revenue Management

• Drive efficiency in revenue processes that includes, Work in Progress (WIP) management, and debt exposure.
• Address and resolve working capital issues, that involves direct engagement with the clients as needed.
• Proactively monitor Net Investment Days and other key financial metrics, recommending actions to improve the financial hygiene.

4. Financial Planning and Analysis

• Support budgeting, reforecasting, and financial analysis activities for both Tokyo and Seoul offices.
• Provide clear and actionable financial insights and analysis to partners and practice groups.

5. Compliance and Risk Management

• Maintain strict adherence to Corporate Criminal Offence, Solicitors’ Accounts Rules, global finance policies, and local tax regulations.
• Establish and continuously improve internal controls and processes to minimise financial and compliance risks, safeguarding firm assets.
• Engage with internal and external auditors to ensure timely completion of audits and address findings effectively.

6. Practice and Team Management

• Act as a trusted financial adviser to partners, providing guidance on complex tax matters and practical solutions.
• Lead and coordinate finance-related functions with secretaries, local teams, and the global finance and tax teams to resolve financial and operational issues.
• Collaborate directly with clients at all stages of engagement, including billing and post-service follow-ups.

7. Strategic Business Support

• Contribute to business strategy by supporting practice groups in setting financial targets linked to overall business plans.
• Influence and refine internal financial policies related to billing, collections, and working capital management.
• Provide responsive financial analysis and reporting to meet partner and management requests on a timely basis.

8. Continuous Improvement

• Drive internal efficiency by challenging the status quo and introducing best practices in financial hygiene and operational workflows.
• Foster a culture of proactive problem-solving and collaboration among key stakeholders.

Characteristics, Skills & Experience required:

Location: Tokyo

Character

• Diplomatic with excellent communication and influencing skills
• Customer orientated attitude essential
• Able to work independently with minimum supervision.
• Diligent and accurate
• Creative thinker with a calm and confident disposition
• Total integrity in dealing with highly sensitive information
• Ability to challenge status quo
• Flexible with ability to cope with changing priorities
• Dynamic, proactive and able to work independently with minimum supervision
• Extremely organised, ability to prioritise and manage workload
• Team player and committed to provide quality performance
• Mature and confident personality (desirable)
• Culturally sensitive and experience (desirable)
• Curiosity and open mind (desirable)

Education / Qualification

• University Degree.
• Formal professional qualification or part-qualified: CPA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent.
• Knowledge and experience with SAP and Salesforce desirable (desirable)

Languages

• Native-level Japanese and Fluent in written and spoken English
• Knowledge of Korean is desirable

Practical experience

• A minimum five years’ experience in a multi-national corporate environment
• Thorough understanding of Tokyo payrolls and related legislation
• Good understanding in tax structure, e.g. partnership for Tokyo, company and LLP for Seoul office.
• Experience in a professional firm (desirable)
• Experience in business and financial analysis (desirable)
• SAP experience (desirable)
• Exposure to Solicitors Accounts Rules (desirable)

Office skills

• Solid Excel and Power Point Skills with strong analytical and presentation skills

Commercial Skills

• Ability to understand the commercial reality behind financial numbers
• Ability to interpret numeric data into real life implications
• Ability to explain financial information to non-finance people
• Ability to challenge existing procedures and make enhancements (desirable)

Technical Skills:

This list of duties and responsibilities above is not exhaustive.  It is intended to describe the general content of, and requirements for, the performance of this job. As such, the role may also include the undertaking of additional tasks as required.